We are calling on Hywel Dda University Health Board to urgently review and improve the care provided to families who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks gestation.
At 18 weeks pregnant, we lost our daughter. During one of the most devastating experiences of our lives, we were forced to seek care outside of Hywel Dda because the support and facilities we needed were not available within our local health board.
The care we received elsewhere showed us what compassionate bereavement care should look like. We were admitted to Labour and Delivery, supported throughout the birth of our daughter, given the opportunity to hold her, spend precious time with her, and create memories that we will treasure forever. Those moments helped us begin to process our grief and acknowledge the life of our much-loved baby.
Within Hywel Dda, families experiencing pregnancy loss before 24 weeks may not have access to the same level of care. Women can be excluded from Labour and Delivery services despite going through labour and birth. Parents may not be routinely offered the opportunity to spend meaningful time with their baby or receive the bereavement support that families facing such a profound loss desperately need.
Losing a baby is traumatic regardless of gestation. Every parent deserves dignity, compassion, privacy, and choice during and after the birth of their baby.
We are asking Hywel Dda University Health Board to:
 ● Review its current policy and care pathway for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
 ● Provide access to Labour and Delivery care for women experiencing late miscarriage where clinically appropriate.
 ● Ensure all parents are offered the choice to see, hold, and spend time with their baby.
 ● Provide memory-making opportunities, including photographs, handprints, footprints, memory boxes, and keepsakes where possible.
 ● Ensure staff receive specialist training in bereavement and pregnancy loss care.
 ● Develop a consistent, compassionate standard of care across all Hywel Dda maternity services.
No parent should be denied the opportunity to meet their baby, create memories, or say goodbye with dignity because their loss occurred before 24 weeks.
We ask Hywel Dda University Health Board to listen to bereaved families and make the changes needed to ensure that every family experiencing pregnancy loss receives the compassionate care they deserve.